Kozhikode: The Kozhikode Police have uncovered a staged robbery plot by a businessman attempting to deceive his father-in-law.
Anakkuzhikkara native PM Rahees Mayankottuchalil (35) had claimed that ₹40 lakh was stolen from his car, but a detailed investigation revealed that he had staged the robbery to avoid repaying his father-in-law.

On March 20, Rahees filed a complaint with the Medical College Police claiming that ₹40,25,000 kept in his car was stolen from the parking lot of a private hospital lot in Poovattuparamba. He said that thieves broke the car's window and took ₹40 lakh kept in a box covered by a sack and ₹25,000 from inside the dashboard.

The police reviewed the CCTV footage and discovered two men wearing helmets breaking the car's front glass. They took a sack from inside the car and fled on their two-wheeler. 

The police traced the vehicle and discovered that the number plate was forged. However, they managed to nab the accused, M Sajid Mele Thekkuveettil (Shaji-37) and Jamshid Mayangottuchalil, from Kuttikkattoor and Anakkuzhikkara, respectively. 

Upon detailed questioning, the duo revealed that Rahees had directed them to stage the robbery. They informed the police that the sack they took from the car only contained an empty cardboard box. Rahees was detained and questioned subsequently. 

The police revealed that Rahees' father-in-law, a manager at a firm in Bengaluru, had sent him funds on several occasions totalling ₹40 lakh. The money was meant to be paid back to the company’s branches in Kerala. However, Rahees, who had spent the entire amount, needed to devise an excuse to explain the situation to his father-in-law.

So he approached Sajid and gave him a contract to fake a robbery. "He planned the drama with the notion that it would not be foiled as he is a well-known businessman and financially sound. But we worked as a team, cross-checked footage from CCTVs, and conducted scientific investigations," a police officer pat of the probe said.
The officer said the sources of the money would also be checked.

The police said that cases were registered against the culprits for fake complaints and cheating. Rahees runs a tyre shop and has a bus.

The police conducted investigations by dividing into different teams under the leadership of Deputy Commissioner of Police Arun K Pavithran, Assistant Commissioner of Police A Umesh, Inspector PK Jijeesh, and Sub-Inspector Arun from the Medical College station.